Rain protector



N. W. SCHMIDT RAIN PROTECTOR Filed Jan. 12, 1928 JQne 28, 1932.

IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

7 1/ 1Mt ZnWM M folde Patented June 28, 1932 PATENT OFFICE UNITED STATES NORMAN W. SCHMIDT, 01' CLAYTON, OHIO mm rno'rncron Application med January 12, 1928. Serial No. 246,819.

This invention relates to rain protectors, and is particularly concerned with emergency rain rotectors or garments, adapted to. be

into small packages.

I The principal object of the invention is the provision of an emergency rain protector which is formed of transparent, flexlble, homogeneous material which may be cheaply and easily made, and which is of small bulk so that it may be folded into a compact flat package adapted to be carried in the pocket.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an emergency rain protector which is constructed by folding a rectangular sheet of flexible material and cutting triangular portions from adjacent corners of the folded sheet which when reversed form downwardly flaring sleeves.

Other objects and advantages of the 1nvention will be apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is an elevation of a rain protector of the present invention in the form of a coat- 2 is a view of the sheet of material from which the coat is formed;

Fig. 3 is a view of the partlally formed coat Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views showing the manner in whichthe coat is folded into a small package;

Fig. 7 is a view of a modified form of a rain protector for use as a hat covering; and

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are views showing the construction and the manner in which the hat 'protector is folded.

sandths of an inch. By the. use of such a material the rain protector may be folded tightly into a small package of about onefourth inch in thickness and having a length and breadth about eight inches and three and one-half inches respectively, so that the rain protector may easily be carried in a business envelope, and may be marketed in folded form, ready for use. The materials mentioned do not crack along the folds and are not easily torn due to the flexibility and elasticity of the material, and it has been found that a very'sharp crease in the material will not cause a tear along the crease line. The transparency of the material permits the usualclothes of the wearer to be visible, and the unsightliness and monotony of the present day rain coats are not present. The material mentioned is a cellulose derivative, formed from natural wood suitably treated and dissolved, and being of a homogenous non-crystalline and non-fibrous nature ossesses the transparency, toughness and e bility desired. A further important advantage of the materials mentioned is their inflammability, as the materials, although they burn in a1r, do so quite slowly.

The coat shown in Fig. 1 is constructed in the following manner. A rectangular sheet of material 11 indicated in Fi 2, is folded along the lines 12 and 13 to form a back section 14 and overlappin front sections 15 and 16. A triangular ouble piece 17 is then cut from the upper ortion of the folded sheet as indicated in ig. 3 and a similar triangular piece 18 is then cut from the adjacent up er corner of the folded sheet. The coats 1n the folded sheet are made along armhole lines 19 and 20 which extend inwardly and upwardly toward the upper portion *of the coat. The next step is the folding of the edges of the various sheets a to reinforce the free edges of the material of the bottom edge 25 of the coat. These various edges after being folded over are cemented or g ued tightly to the main sheet by means of a material such as ambroid glue or by means of any suitable solvent of the material. The use of such materials as a glue provides for considerable flexibility of the seamed portions of the garment so that these may be folded without causing cracking or tearing of the material.

Thetriangular portions 17 and 18 are then reversed so that the edge 21 is adjacent the opposite end of the cut 19. The portions of the material which have been out along the line 19 are then reunited by overlapping these edges as indicated at 20 in Fig. 1 and cementing or gluing the overlapped portions of the sheets together. The triangular portions 17 and 18 thus formed downwardly flaring sleeves and the upper portion of the coat forms a neck 24 of reduced size so that the coat is of substantially the proper form to cover the body of the wearer. It will be apparent that the coat is very simple in its construction and is quite easily and cheaply made, and no material is wasted in the process.

Small strips of adhesive tape 28 are fastened to the edge of the section 11 which overlaps the section 15, and the ends of the adhesive which project from the section 11 are overlapped upon themselves with the adhesive surfaces together so that they may be readily separated when the coat is worn and pressed against the adjacent portion of the section 15 to retain the overlapping relationship of the two front sections. A similar adhesive strip 29 is provided at the reinforced or seamed upper edge of the coat, at the neck.

The coat thus formed is perfectly flat and of course of double thickness to provide the front and rear sides. This coat is then folded into a small package. The first step in the folding process is to turn the outwardly extending corners of the sleeves in so that they are superimposed on the front sections of the coat as indicated in Fig. 4, the sleeves being folded along lines which are extensions of the edges 12 and 13 of the coat. The top portion of the coat is then folded along the line 30, and due to the construction of the coat the upper portion of the partially folded garment constitutes no more than four thicknesses of material as the sleeves do not overlap the folded top portion of the coat as evident from Fig. 4, when these portions are folded inwardly. The coat is then folded preferably along a line parallel with the edges 12 and 13, at the center of the garment, to form a rectangular shape as shown in Fig. 5 which is again folded along the line 31; and the various folds 32, 33, etc., are then made so that the finished and folded garment is of a small rectangular flat shape so that it may be carried conveniently in a pocket in an ordinary flat envelope. Due to the manner in which the coat is folded it will be apof the invention shown in Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive. In this form of construction a sheet of the material mentioned, of rectangular form as shown in Fig. 8, is folded along the line 37 to form a rectangle or square of double thickness as shown 1n Fig. 9. This folded sheet is again folded along the line 38 and the triangular portion 39 is then cemented to one of the surfaces of the folded sheet. The top free edges 40 of the garment are united together by means'of the glue or cement previously referred to. The two adjacent edges 41 and the two edges 42 of the folded sheet are not cemented together and these edges may thus be spread apart so that the rain protector 43 thus formed may be placed over a hat, indicated at 44 in Fig. 7. The hat protector is somewhat larger than the hat itself with which it is to be used so that the downwardly extending triangles 46 may be tucked in under the hat brim and up into the hat so that the corners 47 are between the hat and head of the wearer. The hat protector is thus prevented from blowing away and is maintained in position covering the hat when the garment is worn. It will be apparent that the hat protector is quite simple in its construction and is very easily applied and retained in its proper position over the hat. This garment, like the coat, is adapted to be folded into a small package. As shown in Fig. 10 the garment is folded along the lines 48 so that the garment is of four thicknesses of material throughout. By further folding the partially folded hat protector along lines 49 the garment may be reduced to small size having constant thickness throughout and of rectangular form so that it may readily be placed in a flat envelope and carriedin the pocket. This hat protector like the coat, is intended to be used only a few times before it is thrown away.

While the method herein described, and the forms of apparatus for carrying this method into effect, constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this preciSe method and forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made in either without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making a rain protector of the character described comprising folding a rectangular sheet of material along spaced parallel lines to provide substantially rectangular overlapping sections, cutting a substantially triangular section from two adjacent corners of the folded sheet, reversing the triangular sections so cut and reattaching them along their cut edges to provide downwardly flaring sleeves.

2. The method of making an emergency rain protector of the character described comprising folding a rectangular sheet of material alon spaced parallel lines to provide overlapping front sections, cutting a tri ular section from each top corner of the fol ed sheet, reversing the sections so cut, folding and cementing edges of the folded sheet and of the triangular sections cut therefrom, and reattaching the trian lar sections along their cut edges in then reversed positions, and folding the protector into a flat rectangular package of constant thickness.

In testimony whereof I hereto-afllx my signature.

NORMAN W. SCHMIDT. 

